Diamond in the rough
by HanwooS96x
Summary: Emma never pictured her life like this; running frantically from the reanimated corpses of her family, and when her path crosses that of a patchwork group of survivors can she keep a level head in deciding where her happiness (or the closest thing she can get to it) really lies? Could she be the only person alive to find comfort in Daryl Dixon's presence?
1. Family dynamics

Blood pounded my eardrums as I ran faster than I'd ever run before in my life, ravenous zombies hot on my heels, drooling blood in desperation to finish me off. My tattered black slip-ons slapped the Tarmac as I sprinted down the street where I lived my entire life and while the tears poured down my immaculately clean face, I made my peace with Jesus and readied myself for the jagged teeth of my undead family sinking into my flesh. As I reached the end of the street, a dusty and dented blue pickup truck screeched past and slammed its brakes a few yards in front of me. Two large men were sat outside in the back of it, one was African-American and wore a large white t-shirt that covered his tall, well built frame and the other was a tall white guy wearing a ragged red and white checked shirt that had both sleeves inexpertly torn off it. The second guy scrambled across to the end of the truck as I reached it and kicked the back panel down so that it was effectively a chunky metal shelf. He leaned out and held a well toned arm out and the other man followed his lead, while his eyes bored into mine.

"GET YOUR ASS UP HERE WOMAN OR WE'LL LEAVE Y'HERE!" He screamed in a heavy southern accent, waving his hand desperately at me to grab hold of. I took one last look at my family as they ran down the street behind me, trailing slimy, red guts out behind them and felt my heart crack, before clasping the hand of the southern stranger and letting him haul me up into the back of the rattling, blue pickup. My sister tried to climb up behind me, her rotting fingers scrabbled manically at the metal while her once perfect teeth gnashed and snapped at me and her bouffant style blonde hair billowed in the September breeze. The man who hauled me up swiftly pulled the blue shelf back up and then drove a huge, jagged hunting knife through the once stunningly blue eye of my dear sister. She stopped moving and flopped lifelessly off the back of the truck before we sped away from the rest of my stumbling, decomposing family.

I watched as we pulled away, my heart fracturing into about a million tiny pieces and I slid off my knees and pressed my face against the bumpy metal of the truck, uncontrollably sobbing at the horrific memory that was burned into the back of my eyes of this man...the man who rescued me, plunging a knife into the head of my once gorgeous sister. After a few minutes I managed to control my weeping and I lifted my head up a small way to look through the watery veil at the two men who saved me. I noticed a dirty, sliding glass window that allowed communication between us and the cabin slid open and a man's hand poked out to give the first guy a tissue. He smiled at me kindly and handed it to me. I threw him a watery smile and cleaned myself up, before leaning over and clutching the southerner in a close embrace, burying my pained face in his shoulder as I did so.

"Thank you so much." I whispered, my breathing still unsteady and catching in my throat as I tried to speak. He clearly wasn't very comfortable with me clutching needily at his shirt, so he gingerly patted me on the back and left one arm wrapped awkwardly around my shoulders. He glanced uncertainly at the other guy and didn't move much, but widened his eyes, while frowning and nodded down at me slightly in confusion, as if asking him 'what the fuck?'. The other guy just smiled and laughed a little before putting a hand gently on my back to get my attention. I detached myself and looked at him, wiping my eye one last time.

"Mhm?" I replied, visibly dazed. He still had a small smile on his face.

"What's your name? I'm T-Dog, he's Daryl. You weren't too far away from becomin' walker food, what happened?" He asked, the smile gradually deserting his kind but worn face. I swallowed and tried desperately to clear my head and give him a coherent answer.

"Emma." I said firmly. I turned away from T-Dog, looked at Daryl with hard eyes and steeled myself for what was going to come out of my mouth next.

"And Shirley." I said bluntly, and was met by a confused gaze from the both men. "That was the name of the girl you just killed." I said with nerves of steel until the very last word. As soon as the last word came out of my mouth I broke down in fits of tears and cried until my chest strained and the world went very dark and all the pain of the last few hours melted away into an undisturbed sleep.

It's very different from 'Daryl Dixon- Looking out for your own' but I hope you enjoy this one just as much! Sorry it's been a few months, but I wanted to settle in at college before committing to another...this required more thought than the last one but I hope it pays off! - Hannah


	2. Blushing introductions

My senses plodded slowly back to me as I sluggishly pulled myself back into consciousness. The first thing I became aware of was the soft feel of the cushiony bed underneath my aching body and I gently stroked it with my fingertips beneath the thin blanket that covered me. My eyes fluttered open and I saw I was in a dimly lit bedroom that was supported by large wooden beams running across the ceiling. I turned my head slowly on the pillow and saw a young woman perching at the edge of the bed on the faded yellow blanket. She was watching me carefully, her brown eyes staring intensely at me, but in a non threatening way. I pulled myself up so I was in a half sitting-half laying position and spoke at a volume which matched the mood of the room.

"Where am I? Is it safe?" I asked her. She just nodded at me sympathetically, her short brown hair bobbing back and forth as she did. She was immaculately well groomed for a person living in the middle of a war of nature.

"You're safe. You're in the Pearson's old place...this is where a group of us are staying until all this-" she motioned her hand towards the window. "-has died down." A shadow sped across her face and aged her 10 years, but when she turned back to me her youth flooded back to her and she grinned before clutching my hand and shaking it lightly.

"C'mon, let's get you downstairs. You get to meet the rest of the gang." She joked, as if we were part of some macabre scooby-doo flick. I kicked the blanket off me and looked down at my tired body. I was still wearing the dirt-smudged white vest top and faded blue jeans that I'd been wearing at the party when...when it happened. I swung my legs off the bed and searched with my weirdly tiny feet for my scuffed shoes, slipping them on when I found them and getting to my feet behind the girl. I paused as she got to the door, a frown crinkling my forehead.

"What's your name?" I asked her, concerned that it had slipped my mind to ask her. She grinned at me.

"Maggie." She said proudly. She held an almost perfectly manicured hand out towards me and beckoned for me to take it. I walked cautiously towards her and placed my hand in her cold palm, allowing myself to be dragged out of the bedroom that I'd be spending a long, long time in.

We ran down the steep, narrow stairs towards the front door and abruptly turned round so that we were darting towards the back of the house. Maggie threw a tall wooden door open and dragged me inside a large, white kitchen that had the stereotypical farmhouse feel. The white washed cupboards and tiled walls had a cooling, calming effect, and coupling that with the shining pictures of fruit and animals that raised out of the tiles I felt truly at home. I cast a cautious eye over the other people in the room.

There were two uniformed men; one in a sheriff uniform and the other a deputy, two white haired, bearded old men leaned against a silver sink and adjoining draining board sharing casual chit-chat, a young, skinny asian man conversed with a timid, silver haired woman who clutched a small girl possessively and a tall brunette who was holding a young, bored looking boy close to her side. I took another look and saw the two burly men who rescued me from my street sat at a long, wooden table that was tucked in an alcove, cleaning what appeared to be handguns, and in between them sat a dishevelled and roughed up girl who can't have been much older than 15 looking distinctively tired and bored. Maggie cleared her throat to attract the attention of the weary band of survivors.

"Everybody, this is Emma...Emma this is everyone." She stated simply, beaming as she did so. The brunette with the boy marched forward and pulled me into a hug that would have crushed the life out of a boa constrictor, before turning back to quietly talk to the silver haired woman, glancing up at me every now and then. Watching her do this made me feel quite uneasy, so I preoccupied myself with meeting the rest of the worn-out survivors. The group began milling away from the kitchen and I nervously extended my hand out to the deputy with jet black hair as he was closest to me at the time. He was taken aback, but he shook it firmly nonetheless.

"Shane." He introduced himself, before pulling my arm towards him with a self-assured strength that forced me to step closer towards him. He bent his neck down so that his face was close enough to my ear for nobody else to hear what he was saying to me.

"Emma's a real pretty name. Ain't the only pretty thing about you." He murmured in a low, gravelly voice. I felt my cheeks burn and I knew they'd adopted a Scarlett tinge. I glanced over and noticed the teenager at the table laugh, and immediately I became an even darker shade of red as I worried about whether she was laughing at me or not.

I thought it would make things a lot worse if I didn't go at least go and talk to them before retreating back to the bedroom to hide in embarrassment. I wandered over to the table and immediately their eyes all snapped up and looked at me, so I gave a weak little smile.

"Hi." I meant to sound confident and sure of myself, but instead it came out as a little mouse squeak. The teenage girl sniggered again and looked around to gauge the reactions of the two men who just sat and smirked. She looked back at me with her eyebrows raised and she leaned back in her chair so that her head was resting against the white wall behind her. The blonde streak she had in her scruffy hair caught the light and almost looked white, but the youth in her hair contrasted with the ageing scars on her face and it was hard for me to believe she was only a teenager.

"So what did Shane have to say that was such a secret?" She smirked, clearly enjoying making me feel uncomfortable. I looked down at the table to avoid her eyes but smiled to myself.

"That's for me to know." I told her shortly, trying to put her in her place for being nosy. She looked taken aback, but otherwise she was nonplussed. She smiled mischievously at me before holding out a bony, scarred hand.

"Harper." She told me. I smiled at her warmly and turned my attention to the other two guys sat at the table.

"You were the guys in the truck." I said bluntly. The southern guy who was leaning lazily against the wall next to the girl cocked an eyebrow at me and didn't reply. T-Dog was a lot kinder, as he smiled at me and chuckled.

"Yeah, that's right. Don't worry about it." He said, anticipating my next words. I nodded gratefully at both of them and gave the girl a shaky grin before Maggie silently came and stood behind me.

"See it didn't take you long to start picking on her." She spat from behind me. I spun my head round feeling wounded that she'd assumed I was picking on anyone, but then I realised she wasn't talking to me; she was glaring straight at Harper who just casually laughed her away.

"Yeah, you better keep an eye on her before I try and take her lunch money." She snapped sarcastically, a twisted smile danced on her lips. Maggie pushed her tongue against the inside of her bottom lip at Harper and dragged me away from the kitchen and the few people left in it.

"You've gotta learn to ignore everything she says, she's bad news. Both of them." She warned me as she frogmarched me down the corridor and up the varnished wooden stairs.

"Both of them?" I queried, unsure of who she was talking about. I was pretty unsure of everything that had happened since I'd woken up; unsure of whether I was even awake or not. I felt her shake her head.

"Her and Daryl. They're both bad news." She explained, voice riddled with disdain. I frowned at this.

"She doesn't seem like bad news, and he did stop me from getting eaten." I tried to defend them, hoping for her to change her mind. It seemed like I was under her charge, but I wanted to be friends with everyone...or get along with them at least. We stopped walking in front of a bedroom and she tapped the door with the back of her hand, gaze lingering on my puffy red hair and pale white skin on my face.

"This is mine and Glenn's room, if you need anything, I'll probably be in here..." She trailed off, looking thoughtfully at the door. "...but knock first." She instructed, smiling widely at me, hazel eyes full of a bright cheeriness that I hadn't seen for a while. I peered round her at the number of other bedrooms that were separated from us by tall, dark wooden doors with silver doorknobs.

"So...where am I sleeping?" I asked curiously. She scowled at me, filling me with shock.

"Outside." She said coldly. My eyes widened and I darted them towards the window to see if there was a shed or something she was referring to. I heard her laugh jingle out down the corridor and I turned back to her in confusion.

"I'm kidding! Uhh...I know that Rick and Lori won't wanna be moved, Glenn and I don't wanna be moved..." She told me, gazing thoughtfully into me. "Maybe I can convince Daryl to swap with someone. As much as I hate to say it, you're probably gonna have to share with Harper." She told me. My face fell theatrically because I didn't want her to know that secretly I was glad, I really didn't want to have distance between me and anybody else.

Maggie grinned at me one more time and waved a couple of fingers at me, before disappearing into her room. I didn't want to feel like I was badgering her, so I turned around to head back to the kitchen. I spun round to make my way downstairs, but instead I bumped face first into the red checked shirt that I recognised immediately as Daryl's.

"Watch it, no wonder y'nearly got yourself killed out there." He snapped, startled that I'd knocked into him. I looked down at the ground and mumbled an apology before swiftly making my way downstairs.

For someone who saved a life, he was pretty mean.


	3. Building unexpected bridges

I set about exploring the house, feeling like a kitten in unfamiliar territory with the watchful eye of it's owner fixed firmly upon it. I paced the downstairs rooms, tentatively peering through each door to see if there was anybody in there before I began exploring properly. I shuffled nervously into an immaculately decorated sitting room and began having a little nose around. There were two white couches lining the wall the door was in, and directly opposite that there was a stunningly ornate, golden fireplace that had a series of long candles sitting on top of it. The walls were a light golden colour, continuing the theme started by the fireplace, but the slightly tired carpet, thankfully, was a brilliant white. I delicately touched an old bookcase that loomed over the room in the corner. I love books, so I spent a great deal of time carefully examining the spines and covers, as I had to start exploring somewhere.

"You okay?" I heard a female voice ask from the doorway. I jumped, startled and dropped the tatty, purple book I was holding. I spun to see the tall brunette standing in the door and looking curiously at me. I looked at the book on the floor and blushed before bending to pick it up, but she swooped down and did it for me.

"Uh, thanks...sorry I'm awful with names." I confessed, embarrassed tone in my voice. She just smiled at me, but there was no real emotion behind the smile and it felt cold and distant.

"Lori." She told me, eyes drilling into me. "So Emma, where're you from?" She asked casually, trying to find out as much about me as possible. I looked at her and tried to smile but ended up sort of grimacing at her.

"Dallas. Well, I'm from Dallas, but I lived in Austin...Texas." I babbled. She raised a surprisingly well sculpted eyebrow and a half smile graced her face.

"Austin, huh? So what were you doing running through the streets of Atlanta?" She asked. I began to feel more like I was being interrogated than having a friendly chat, so I quickly gabbled a hasty response and retreated from the sitting room, tail firmly between my legs.

"Family thing, sister lives in Atlanta." I shot quickly and hurriedly left, but instead of leaving the company of someone I didn't know I crashed straight into Shane. He looked at me with confusion for a few seconds, then his face broke into a confidant smile.

"Hey, slow down...hate to think you're running from something." He said coolly, but I'd had it up to my neck with running.

"No. I wasn't running, just getting some air...it's a bit warm in here." I lied quickly, not wanting to let slip about Lori's mini interrogation. He put an arm round me as if we'd known each other for more than an hour and started leading me outside.

"You're right, it's pretty hot in here." He exclaimed, not looking at me, but just staring ahead through the kitchen and out the door. He steered me through the kitchen persuasively and before I could say anything we were outside, the forest surrounding me and almost suffocating me. We walked about 10 metres from the house so we were partially obscured by trees. He began pacing back and forth, just staring at the ground in front of him as he filled me with a curious sense of unease...that I didn't entirely hate. Confused? I was.

I looked wonderingly at his features, taking them in more than I had done earlier on. When Maggie dragged me downstairs I was still a bit dazed from waking up in a totally foreign environment, but I'd had time to recuperate since then. I noticed several scars dotted around his face, but that was true of all the people I'd met today, some more so than others. He had thick, black, curled hair that somehow he'd managed to keep relatively short, and he had extremely dark brown eyes that were almost midnight black. In an unconventional way, he was really quite attractive. The sky that penetrated the thick darkness of the trees was a vibrant orange colour and it speckled the dry, brown earth with bright patches of light that I hadn't ever seen before.

He took a few steps towards me, arm bent slightly but stretched towards me, as if he were trying to make a point but couldn't find the words. He paused and moved forward so that he could grab both of my arms in his and pull me closer than necessary to his chest and just looked blankly at me, slight desperation in his look. I was massively taken aback by this and let out a sharp gasp of surprise, which was met by a small shake from Shane. He stared intently into my face, as if studying me and then spoke.

"Look I don't know if you'd noticed but you're a damn sight hotter than all those other ugly trolls that are still alive out there." He breathed, as I frowned at him, horrified he could talk about women who were struggling to survive alone out there in such an abhorrent way. I wasn't confused about what he was getting at, but I wasn't sure I liked it. He ignored my frown and continued.

"Now it's a little hard to tell when the next one of us is gonna get ripped to pieces, so how 'bout we start having some fun...?" He asked, his face gradually getting closer to mine until I could feel his breath on my face, not really giving me room for argument. I was still stunned, but I was slightly, morbidly flattered...but what would the others think? I'd not been there 5 minutes and already I was potentially getting together with Shane. I didn't have time to answer as a sharp, female voice called out behind us, causing him to pull his arm away and step back.

"Hey! You two need to get inside in the next few minutes, before shit starts to get real interesting." Came the voice from behind me. I spun, startled by the sudden noise, but relaxed slightly when I saw it came from the scarred teenager, Harper. She stood a yard or two behind me and put her hands on her hips, staring straight at me while I blushed profusely.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to go into the woods with strange men?" She questioned me, eyebrow raised. I plucked up the first of my courage since arriving and mirrored her hands-on-hips stance, both of my eyebrows raised defensively.

"Didn't you mother ever tell you to respect your elders?" I quipped. She was just about to throw another scathing comment my way, but Shane just laughed loudly.

"Ignore her, Emma, her mother never taught her shit about manners." He informed me, loudly enough for her to hear. Instead of being angry at this she just grinned.

"Damn right, but seriously, you guys need to start heading indoors, you know night's more dangerous, Shane." She said warningly, staring at Shane with a concerned look on her aged face. I couldn't help but stare at her and wonder how she managed to cover her entire face in scars. Shane just tutted at her and sighed.

"D'you seriously think I can't look after myself and Emma?" He asked affronted. She just squinted at him.

"What weapons you got on you?" She asked him. He remained silent but a tiny smile flickered across his face.

"Alright, have it your way." He said, defeated. We began trudging back up to the house and he wandered over to me and leaned closer to me so that Harper couldn't hear what he was saying.

"She always gets her own way." He grinned, giving me a subtle wink as he did so. I knew I'd enjoy staying with these people.

We wandered in through the back door and the guy I assumed was Rick was marching towards us, glaring at Shane. He brushed past me and made his was over to Rick.

"A word?" Rick spat at him. He sniffed and nodded at him, before they both stalked off through the front of the house, leaving me alone with Harper. I didn't know what to say to her, but I tried to make small talk to make things better.

"Maggie says I might be sharing a room with you." I said timidly, smiling slightly down at her. I wasn't massive myself, but she was positively tiny. She frowned slightly.

"Right. It was nice of her to tell me that..." She began, but quickly stopped frowning when she saw my face drop, worried I'd annoyed her. "It's not a problem, but I'm already sharing with Daryl. There's enough room in the bedroom, just not enough beds. Push comes to shove I'll sleep on the window seat." She blurted, trying to make me feel better. Then it became my turn to frown.

"So...there are two beds?" I tried to figure out slowly. She shook her head at me.

"Nope. One. You're sharing with Daryl...good luck." She grinned at me and beckoned for me to follow her up the stairs. My gut was tied in a knot at the thought of sharing with them, especially Daryl; I liked them enough...but oh my lord did they make me feel nervous.

I'm really sorry about the chapter update delay, I've been busy with college work and I'm going to a funeral tomorrow, so I don't know when the next update will be...hopefully soon. Sorry about the wait guys. -Hannah


	4. Trekking the depths of things

"Don't see why I've gotta sleep in the damn window." Daryl's grumble penetrated the silence of the dark room. The wooden room was dipped in a silver bath that crept across the floor and spilled onto the bed I was sharing with the relaxed teenager. I heard her giggle next to me.

"Because, girls sleep together apparently...and I wouldn't wish your bed habits upon anybody, even Maggie." She said in a voice barely louder than a whisper. I laughed quietly and thought back to someone I'd so recently shared a bed with; he wasn't good at sharing beds either...but I always ended up with the quilt. I smiled at this happy memory, then remembered what had all too probably become of him, and my smile became hollow and cold. An uncomfortable choke came to my throat, and I quietened down immediately. Harper sighed and Daryl spoke again.

"Ain't that bad...anythin' you're the asshole, Gunshot." He mumbled lazily. She snorted in derision.

"Yeah okay, I've never planked across YOU before...preferred the fucking tent." She laughed softly as he cussed her out, and they continued to bicker playfully while I fell into a warm and pleasant sleep, undisturbed- comforted even- by the world worn survivors.

I awoke in the early hours of the morning, the light had barely made it through the curtains and the cold blue sky still held the sun prisoner behind a flurry of clouds. I stirred slightly beneath the covers, and trying my hardest not to wake up the peacefully resting teenager next to me, I crept away and out the room. As soon as I heard the doorknob click back into place when I was in the corridor outside, I breathed normally again. I padded quietly down the corridor, wondering who was actually asleep or not and made my way down the old wooden stairs.

As soon as I entered the kitchen a silence fell and everyone turned to stare at me. Obviously they'd been talking about me, so I dropped my gaze awkwardly to the floor and briskly walked over to the sink. Behind me, Rick put his gun which had previously been lying menacingly on the table, in his belt, nodded at Shane who was standing opposite him and left the room. I ran the tap to make it look like I actually had a purpose over there, until I heard someone's footsteps right behind me. I jerked my head slightly to see who it was, and out the corner of my eye I saw Shane. He reached around me so that I was in between his arms and he could wash his hands for no other reason than to get this close to me. I turned my head to look into his face and I flashed him a small smile which he returned warmly and immediately I felt a warm rush go through my entire body and as cliché as it sounds, all the bad things that had happened just seemed to melt away. Behind us, Lori cleared her throat loudly and we both jumped away from the sink. I looked over at her and she stood with a prosthetic grin plastered across her face with raised eyebrows.

"Hate to interrupt, but when are you planning on going out?" She asked Shane, pointedly ignoring me. I frowned at the side of his head.

"You're going out?" I asked, slightly wounded that he hadn't mentioned it to me and then I thought myself impertinent to be wondering such a thing. He looked exasperatedly at me and nodded slightly, avoiding my gaze. Lori stood on the other side of the room with her hands on her hips.

"Well? Are you going? If you're gonna leave you should probably go out now, while it's still morning. Shane, you can take two of the others if you want, there's safety in numbers." She said in a hurried sigh, before flouncing out of the room. Shane turned back to me and I looked into his eyes.

"Shane I-" I began but I was cut off by him taking hold of my shoulders and pulling me into a long kiss. I was totally startled so I squeezed my eyes shut and just let my entire body be filled up by a buzzing and warm feeling. He released me from the intense kiss and I fell back against the sink.

"You're coming with me." He said simply, before giving me one final kiss on the cheek then leaving the room.

Damn. He's good. I took one final deep breath and ran after him.

"Shane!" I called into the hallway. "Wait for me!"

I sat in the back of the SUV, behind Shane and Andrea, letting the hulking great car rock me back and forth into a comforting sense that everything was still okay. I gazed dreamily out of the window and let myself become immersed in the countryside that melted and blurred around me, not taking into account any of the rotting dead that littered the road and fields. Just as my eyelids became heavy with the bright glow of the day, Andrea's voice jerked me back into the car.

"So where you from?" she inquired. Of course the group had been a one track record over the past few days, but I can understand that; they let me into their home after all, they deserved to know my story.

"Texas, born and raised." I replied, voice tinged with pride of the south. Andrea smiled at me in the rear view mirror.

"So what were you doing in Atlanta?" She asked me, curiously, possibly just to make conversation...one I didn't want to have.

"I was at my sister's...we were having a party." I said, voice wobbling. She didn't pick up on this and pressed on with the oh- so heavy and light conversation.

"Oh cool, a party!" she exclaimed with a hint of mock enthusiasm. "Anything nice?" she asked. She asked the question I was dreading answering, but answer it I had to. I bit my lip and glanced at Shane in the mirror, and he caught my eye with a stern gaze. He didn't know. Oh God he didn't know. I'd always felt strange about taking the Lord's name in vain, but here it was unavoidable, this was so not how I'd expected the words to come out. I broke away from his gaze and he did the same, averting his eyes back to the anonymous road before him.

"It was an engagement party. Just- well, it was just my engagement party really." And then the whole car was swallowed into the most awkward, tense silences of my entire life.

**I apologise for my sporadic updates, but college is harder than I thought it would be! I often don't have time to think about anything but work, so I'll endeavor to update when possible!- Hannah**


	5. Learning to adapt

I was sat in the back of the SUV in silence for what felt like 3 long eternities, so when we finally pulled up outside some dusty wooden store I felt a wash of relief. I threw the door open and slipped out of the car, suddenly blinded by the intense hot sunlight. I quickly covered my face with both of my hands and rubbed it, trying to massage the sudden pain away and as I did so I felt a familiarly large arm snake its way firmly around my waist. The grip wasn't vice-like enough to be painful, but it certainly wasn't comfortable...physically or emotionally. I watched wistfully as Andrea looked around the broken wooden door and walked inside the shop, wishing I could have gone with her instead of being pinned against Shane like this.

"So Emma, when were you gonna tell me 'bout this whole weddin' thing?" He murmured in my ear. I squirmed slightly beneath his touch and breath, struggling to come up with an answer that wouldn't enrage him. I turned my head slightly so I could look at him, but I didn't feel comfortable looking straight into his eyes. My hair crushed into the side of my face, making it awkwardly hot as my hands weren't free to remove it. I bit my lip then opened my mouth to speak.

"It's not something that ever came up. Not really much point in talking about it now I spose." I replied, voice thick with a pang that could only have been attributed to the pain of losing my fiancé. Shane scowled and sharply grabbed a handful of my hair, the other hand fixed firmly on my rear end. I cried out in pain and he shook my again, yanking me closer to that his face was pressed right against mine.

"Quit bitchin' about your dead boyfriend 'cuz he ain't comin' back Em, now I don't wanna hear a single word about this asshole again, you hear me?" He snarled as I silently cried. Shane took the hand that was pulling my hair and brought it down to stroke my face instead, gently wiping away some of my tears. I felt slightly nauseous for so many different reasons, I hated being called 'Em', I hated the way he was talking about the man I was supposed to spend my life with, and I hated the way I still liked- maybe even loved him. He made shushing noises at me as I cried quietly into his face, out of sadness and desperation for him not to hurt me again.

"Shh now Em, stop crying and clean your face up, we wouldn't want you looking like crap now, would we?" He asked with a small smile as he let go of me before slowly turning and following Andrea into the store. I stood shaking for several seconds after he'd disappeared; I couldn't figure out how I was feeling. I tried to slow my breathing down to a normal pace and I wiped my face on my shoulder before hurrying into the store after him.

I didn't focus on anything else for the rest of the day. I drifted about wherever I was told to go hazy eyed and admittedly a little scared. I sat in the bedroom on the window seat just staring out into the garden, pouring over everything that had happened outside the store. I'll admit now, I did have a long cry to myself at that window, wondering whether my life would be better...not being a life. It's one of the worst crimes imaginable, and the Lord wouldn't forgive me if I did anything like that...but it was just so hard adjusting to this apocalyptic world and all the bad people in it. Not that I thought Shane was a bad person, he had his reasons for doing those things; I should have told him that I was engaged and I shouldn't have kept going on about it once he knew.

As I looked out at the dark green lawn I wiped a few rogue tears from my pale cheeks and leaned my head against the cool glass. My eyes were just beginning to shut when I heard the door open and someone walked in. I could tell by the sound of the heavy footsteps on the wood it wasn't Maggie or Harper, and they were really the only people I'd grown to feel any platonic affection for...even then saying I felt platonic love for Harper was a stretch. I knew it was a man that had walked in and I was praying for it to be Shane as I didn't want to go looking for him and bug him with my constant presence, it wasn't like I needed his attention all the time. I glanced back towards the door and saw Daryl standing by the closet, fiddling about with some stuff inside that was obscured from my view. I sighed quietly and ignored him, closing my eyes and leaning on the window again.

"F'You're gonna sleep there I'll go back in the bed." He said, and I couldn't tell whether he was joking or not...and I really didn't care either.

"Sure thing." I replied, probably startling him a little. Despite Shane's warnings, my thoughts flickered back to my late fiancé and a few tears escaped through my closed eyelids and trickled slowly down my face, almost burning my skin with their salty heat. Daryl misinterpreted my sadness.

"Damn f'it means that much to you, stay in the bed." He muttered sheepishly. I let a small laugh escape my lips and I immediately felt guilty, but simultaneously relieved.

"No...It's not that, you sleep in the bed." I assured him. "I'm being stupid, ignore me." I told him softly. He looked puzzled and then shook his head, muttering 'women' under his breath as he left the room again, leaving me stranded alone with my draining thoughts.


	6. Confirming suspicious characters

"All I'm saying is, don't get too caught up in whatever messed up web Shane's caught you in..." drifted Maggie's voice distantly through my head. I wasn't listening to her; I really wasn't interested in anything she had to say about Shane. I knew I'd been wrong in our argument and I just wanted to leave it alone and move on with our relationship and though it caused me a lot of sleep loss, I finally came to the conclusion that I love him, deep in the warm dark of a night. I'd swapped beds with Daryl (much to Harper's dismay) but I found myself enjoying the window seat deeply. I could gaze out at the soothing starry sky until sleep finally took me each night.

"Emma, are you even listening to me?" Maggie sighed exhaustedly. I looked sheepishly at her and around the kitchen as I shrugged.

"Sorry...I guess I've just made up my mind about what I'm gonna do about it." I told her. Her eyes instantly gleamed and she perked up in anticipation. "I'm gonna stick with Shane." I said simply. She drooped almost comically and put her almost perfect hand over my own. I briefly compared the two of us; her skinny tanned hand contrasted brazenly with my own pale and slightly plump stumps with bitten nails.

"You don't have to let him walk all over you." She said softly, almost melodically. Her kindness just annoyed me; she had no idea what she was talking about.

"Maggie I appreciate the help but really there's nothing that needs helping. I love him and I'm sure he loves me." I told her firmly, voice full of assured confidence. She was taken aback by my less than courteous response, raising her eyebrows as she withdrew her hand from my own.

"Oh, you love him do you? Have you told him that? Has he told you he loves you?" She asked sharply, her every word cutting my skin and revealing my insecurities for what they were.

"I haven't...we don't need to." I retorted, voice wavering slightly, any illusion of confidence shattered. I felt my face burn the same fiery red as my hair as her words echoed in my thoughts and I became overwhelmed with it all. I abruptly stood up and started to back away, tripping over my chair as I went and mumbling.

"I've got to go...talk to some people...thanks..." I murmured as I left the kitchen before I could embarrass myself further.

I hated the way she spoke so negatively about Shane. He was doing his best to look after everyone in the group, her included and she shouldn't have been so down about him all the time. I tried to push her toxic words further and further away from my mind as I trekked the quiet folds of the house to find Shane. As much as I hated her in that moment, I wasn't gonna tell Shane any of the things Maggie had said...but if he asked I wasn't going to lie to him. I couldn't see any reason why he'd ask though; I thought the world of Shane at the time, I was content in my little bubble away from the nastiness of the walker ridden world, protected by Shane. I listed all Shane's good points in my head as I drew closer and closer to the sitting room; his gorgeous good looks, how nice he was, he was sweet, funny, so strong-

Bitch!

I stopped dead in the door of the sitting room and stared in, feeling my heart splinter into tiny pieces and stab at my other organs, bleeding them dry. From where I stood all I could see was Lori facing me, leaning nonchalantly against the wall while Shane, my Shane, leant suggestively on the wall next to her so that he faced her. She glanced up and saw me staring, open mouthed and tense and in the next moment I could have sworn she hated me, as she leant into Shane's body and brought him into a slow and seductive kiss. I didn't know how much more of this I could watch and I must have let out an audible gasp before I ran away to the other end of the hall, as Shane realised I'd heard and followed me out into the hall. He rushed over to my while I cried and pinned me against the wall with both of his arms.

"Hey hey hey! You need to quit cryin' right now, cryin' won't get you anywhere." He told me softly, menacingly almost. I didn't want to stop, I wanted to cry my lungs out through my throat but I could sense the oncoming storm so I stifled my tears and just let my chest try and handle the sporadic breathing I was doing. She moved closer to me so that our noses were almost touching and spoke again, in the same menacing tone.

"That was nothin', you hear me? It didn't happen, so I don't know why the hell you're cryin' over nothin', Em. Why're you cryin' over nothin'?" He asked me, his voice adopting a low growl to it. I knew how much he wanted me to go away in that moment, and believe me I wanted nothing more than the ground to swallow me whole and take me into the damp earth. I steadied my breathing and slowly smiled waveringly at him.

"I don't know. Guess it's just me bein' stupid." I told him, smile still rattling emptily around my face. He stared at me, face blanker than an unsullied canvas and swooped closer to kiss me. I almost threw up on him, as the thought of being able to taste that slut Lori on his lips made me physically queasy, but I managed to refrain. He let go of me and stalked back into the sitting room without a second glance in my direction before slamming the door, probably to tell Lori to back off and stay away from my man. The image of her being on him still hurt me more than a dagger to the neck, but I couldn't let her know that. I stood gingerly up and wiped my eyes dry, snivelling and trying to turn off the deeply unattractive water fountain that was coming from my nose. I finally regained my composure and turned to face the stairs, only to discover that Daryl and Harper were staring back at me from the top of the stairs. I beamed at them both and went to walk away, before the smaller voice stopped me.

"Good day?" Harper chimed with a voice thick with sarcasm. My face fell quite visibly and Daryl lightly punched her in the arm. They shared a look of knowing, a look that said they both knew something I didn't, a look that left me on the outside of everything and I hated it.

"What are you two goofin' around up there for?" I asked them, trying to make my voice sound as cheerful as possible, despite my sore heart. "Ain't you two got somewhere you need to be?" Harper just sniggered and darted away, back up the corridor to our bedroom until she was out of sight and earshot, leaving Daryl and I alone in the hallway. He got up and padded down the stairs, eyes fixed firmly on the steps in front of him until he stopped about 1ft in front of me. We stood awkwardly in front of each other for a few seconds, as he didn't want to look directly at me for two long; almost as if I were the sun and quite honestly he frightened me a little bit.

"Y'alright?" he asked gruffly, a light undertone of embarrassment outlined his voice. I pursed my lips and nodded at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks." I replied shortly, the air between us almost damp with awkwardness. He nodded back at me and looked me briefly in the eyes before offering me unwanted words.

"He can be an asshole, be careful." He warned ominously, before turning round and stalking into the kitchen. I stood, shocked for a few seconds, before a boiling indignation welled up inside me and I dashed after him.

The bright light of the kitchen beamed into my eyes and knocked me back a step as my eyes adjusted to the glaring white walls. Daryl hadn't noticed me follow him until I reached up and grabbed his thick shoulder in a bid to spin him round to face me.

"He can be an asshole?" I repeated incredulously, eyebrows arched high on my forehead. "He's not an asshole, he's a wonderful guy who had some dumb hussy on his back, that's all!" I informed him shrilly. Daryl shrugged my hand off his shoulder, tinge of disgust on his face.

"Hands off me woman!" He spat. "On'y tryin'a help your dumb ass, if y'wanna be a bitch about it, s'not my problem." He growled in my face before going out back and slamming the door as he did so. I let out an angry growl of frustration and ran upstairs to bury my face in my pillow and forget the world for a little while.

_**Doesn't look like there's been too much walker action recently...that's gonna change in the next chapter, I guarantee you all! I feel like I owe you guys a lot of updates, so I'll try and get a few out over the next few days. Happy reading.**__ -__**Hannah**_


End file.
